How Storytelling Helps Business Owners Communicate, Featuring Robert Kennedy on The Entrepreneur MBA Podcast
In today’s Entrepreneur MBA podcast guest, Robert Kennedy from Kennetik Kommunications speaks with Stephen Halasnik from Financing Solutions, a leading provider of small business lines of credit, about how storytelling helps business owners communicate. They talk about the format of a story and why storytelling has been important & will continue to be important. They also talk about communication how important that is to storytelling because there is no storytelling without communication. Business owner communication is very important for storytelling so how good are business owners at telling stories.
Robert Kennedy III, RK3, didn’t know he liked to speak…yet he always found himself in the position to do so…at church (he’s a PK), at school (ended up being a teacher for a while), with music groups (formed, led and recorded) and in business (started several businesses). What he has ALWAYS loved is technology. He once took apart a radio just to see if he could put it back together. He got it back together but it was never the same. Oh well, he was just 11.
The technology, the speaking, and even the radio came together eventually as his background includes time as a news anchor, classroom teacher, and technology trainer. Now, he works with business leaders who need to connect with their teams, especially on video. He shows them how to connect using storytelling as a tool. When he’s not doing storytelling work, he’s probably dabbling with something in his home studio or hitting a ball of some sort.
About Stephen Halasnik, The Entrepreneur MBA Podcast and Financing Solutions Financing Solutions is a leading provider of small business lines of credit. The credit line is fast, easy, inexpensive, and costs nothing to set up making it great for emergencies or opportunities. Stephen Halasnik, Managing Partner of Financing Solutions is also the host of the popular, The Entrepreneur MBA Podcast. If you would like to learn more about the line of credit program, please visit Business Line of Credit Here or call at 862-207-4118.
There is one thing that people are not doing that I see negatively impacting their online presentations, virtual meetings, etc. What is the one critical thing that a lot of people still aren’t getting right? Eye contact? Yes, eye contact from the time you’ve been a kid, you’ve been told you got to have excellent eye contact for people to understand that you’re having a conversation with them. So it is portrayed that you believe what they have to say is important, you’re engaged in the conversation, you’re present in the discussions, and this is generally done in person.
For some reason, people have forgotten this when we’ve gotten into online conversations. They don’t always pay attention to how their eyes connect with somebody who happens to be on the other side of the screen. So there are quite a few common mistakes. Oftentimes, people have their phones on the desk, or because the computer is on the desk and you’re taller than the computer, you’re looking down at the computer, you got the nose view, you’ve got all of these different things that are going wrong.
We want to talk about fixing that; I want to share with you a few things that will improve your eye contact and help you become a rockstar in your next virtual presentation or meeting.
#1
The first thing that you can do to improve your eye contact in your virtual presentations, online presentations, and meetings is really simple. Start by recording yourself. Many people cannot maintain eye contact because they’re not comfortable with looking at the camera or looking at the lens and seeing themselves or seeing nobody on the camera; it becomes challenging for them to keep that focus. Make sure that you record yourself so you can become more comfortable talking on screen.
#2
This next step is one of the more challenging things for people to understand or think about. When you have your camera set, you don’t want the camera just set at eye level, and you certainly don’t want to set below eye level. You want it set just a touch above eye level so that your eyes appear wider and you don’t look like you’re looking down on people. It also makes your face look brighter.
#3
To improve your eye contact in virtual sessions, virtual meetings, online presentations, you can consider using a teleprompter if you need to. Teleprompters don’t necessarily have to be those big fancy ones that a president and other high-level officials use. Some teleprompters can be on your computer. They can be on your iPad, your tablet device, and teleprompters can also be on your phone. There is a great app called video teleprompter produced by Joe Allen. They helped me do more than just read the words that are on the screen. If I’m in a zoom meeting, I can use my camera through a teleprompter and still see the people that are in the zoom meeting; it also helps me to keep in contact with those in the meeting.
#4
Don’t obsess over eye contact. And when I say don’t obsess, I mean, you don’t have to stare at the camera the entire time. There’s nothing wrong with sometimes looking away to do something or grabbing something you don’t have to worry about it. You may believe that people suddenly will end the meeting and leave you your meeting if you look away. Trust me; they won’t do that. What they want from you is connection. They want authenticity. They want you to be as natural as possible. And yes, they want to see your eyes too.
You can also find this post on http://kennetikkommunications.com/how-to-maintain-better-eye-contact-in-virtual-presentations/ & https://robertkennedy3.medium.com/how-to-maintain-better-eye-contact-in-virtual-presentations-462145fb902f
Have you ever had to give a speech or a presentation, and you just weren’t sure how to set up your address or structure it so that you could connect with your audience and have them get the point? I’m going to share with you five storytelling techniques that you can use to structure your speech and make you look like a presentation Rockstar.
You’ve been called on to deliver a speech, a report, or a presentation. And you don’t want it to be the same old boring speech, presentation, or report anymore. You’ve heard that storytelling is an excellent way to bump up the engagement and connection factor. But you’re just not sure how to bring stories into work or data built or data-driven presentations.
I want to share five techniques that you can use to structure any good story or presentation.
#1
The first technique is called the hero’s journey. In the hero’s journey, this is a journey or a technique you’re all familiar with. A lot of movies use this journey. The hero leaves their home, and they set out on this crazy journey. They go from something comfortable, something they know, something they’re used to, into this threatening unknown. After this, they fight a big battle; they overcome a great trial. And then they return home with a reward or with some new wisdom. This wisdom is then used to help their community. Many stories follow this; this technique helps to take your audience on a journey with that hero, goes with them through the fights, goes with them back home, where they’re then able to utilize those stories to share with those at home. All the new wisdom that they’ve discovered. Joseph Campbell wrote a great book called the hero’s journey. And if you’re interested in finding out about that technique, I recommend reading that book.
#2
The second storytelling technique with which you might want to be familiar with if you’re not already familiar. It’s called the mountain. Now, in the first part of the mountain story, you’re just telling everybody what’s going on, you’re creating context, you’re setting the scene. But the mountain is this journey, where there are ups and downs, there are breaks, there are challenges, resolution challenges, you got one challenge, then it’s solved. You’ve got a second challenge to solve the third challenge, and then it’s off. It’s like one of those personal stories where you almost feel like you are constantly having trouble. It never ends. And the thing about a mountain story, unlike the hero’s journey, the hero’s journey usually has a happy ending; the mountain story does not have to have a happy ending. It could end with someone dying, and it could end with the story not resolving as you would expect it to.
#3
The third storytelling technique that you want to be familiar with is one that’s called nested loops. Now in nested loops, you layer several narratives inside of each other. A friend tells you their story. And then that story includes someone wise, maybe telling them a story that changed their lives. And it changed the arc of their story. For example, I remember writing a story about how I was practicing for a group in college. As I was doing that, a friend or someone was a chaplain of my College who came to watch, and he said some words to me. He told me a story. And that story changed how I viewed myself as a leader. If I’m suggesting that story to somebody, I’m telling them the story that my guru said to me inside of the story. So they hear my story plus the other story of wisdom. And then they’re learning how that story of wisdom affected me and changed my life arc. That’s what a nested loop does.
#4
The fourth storytelling technique is the media rez, or in the middle of things. Using this technique, you start in the heat of the action; you start in the middle of the story, as it says in the name. You might be in the middle of the climax, in the middle of the conflict, in the middle of the battle, right when this story begins, but then you circle back to the beginning. And you tell how this started, and you give a little bit of the build-up before returning through that middle through that battle, on to the end of the store. Many movies work this way. Look for any movie that has or features flashbacks.
#5
The fifth storytelling technique is what is known as sparklines. Nancy Duarte uses this technique, and a sparkline is where you contrast what is happening currently with the hope of an ideal future or fantasy. An example of this, you will probably look for many political speeches or many sermons. They share with you what is happening now, the crazy that’s happening now. And then they tell you what that future is that you can look towards. These are very inspirational speeches, and they want your audience to move to action. They share with you a different future, a different possibility, one that doesn’t exist already, but an idealistic one, one that is perfect. One that is aspirational gives people something to hope for. Martin Luther King delivered what was called the I Have a Dream speech. And this was a speech that used sparklines talking about all of the different things that existed now or then. And then comparing that with his dream of what could be speeches and presentations are that much better and much more interesting.
When there’s a story involved, stories are much easier to structure when you understand how they’re put together, and you have a framework.
You can also find this post on https://robertkennedy3.medium.com/5-storytelling-tips-to-make-you-a-presentation-rockstar-741cca054782 & http://kennetikkommunications.com/5-storytelling-tips-to-make-you-a-presentation-rockstar/
I find myself distracted with emails every time I get into the office. For me, it starts as soon as I’m logged onto my computer and checking what’s new in there- especially if a specific task is awaiting completion! With so many distractions at our fingertips from social media to articles about things unrelated to work or personal life, sometimes before you know it 20 minutes have gone by without producing any progress on your current project that requires attention.
Here are three things that I’ve learned to do to increase my productivity and keep me on track. Since distraction is one of my biggest stumbling blocks in achieving productivity success, here’s something that I’ve learned to do by my computer. I keep a notebook, and these are the three steps that I’ve learned to follow;
#1
I will create a list of everything that I need to complete, and I will do this away from the computer. I do not want to be distracted writing this list, or what I will also do is write this list from the night before. This is so beneficial as you tend to have a clearer mind space at night, you are more relaxed. This then results in your remembering all the minor and essential things you need to accomplish the next day. It also helps to reduce morning stress. So first thing in the morning, before I even turn on my computer, I will run through my list again to see the list of tasks I am to complete for that day.
# 2
Prioritize! Prioritize! Prioritize! Prioritizing tasks is crucial to being organized and staying productive throughout the day. If we do not prioritize our tasks, then we do not have a structure to follow. We might get started on low priority tasks and then get distracted from the fact that we have a high priority task to complete. When we realize there is a top priority task that is to be done in the next 20 minutes, we get flustered and may become thrown off for the entire day. Prioritizing also helps with distractions; if you know that you have a few high priorities tasks to get done right away, you will try to complete these tasks before moving on to anything else.
#3
Time management is my final step for productivity success. I assign all my tasks a time limit; I will say 30 minutes for this task, 30 minutes for that, 15 minutes for this,15 minutes for that. I will also place all my tasks into my calendar to be aware of a time that is blocked off for a specific task. I usually have a time blocked off in general terms on my calendar anyway, but now I make it more specific to the tasks that I must accomplish.
To recap, I write everything down. I write the three top priorities, and then I block them into three short task-driven times. I try to do this first thing in the morning before I sit down in front of my computer. Let’s go ahead and make sure you are achieving productivity success in your daily life.
You can also find this post on https://robertkennedy3.medium.com/3-steps-to-productivity-success-bb805d16fca4
I wanted to share three tips for dealing with public speaking fear, nervousness, and anxiety. I was looking online, and I saw a question that asked what causes public speaking anxiety? What causes people to be so fearful about public speaking? I remember the very first time that I was on stage; my mouth went dry. I could feel my tongue. I could feel every bump on my tongue. And I looked out into the audience, and I saw a thousand eyes. A thousand eyes focused on me. That was my first public speaking experience.
It was a crazy, nerve-wracking experience. And the reason why it was nervous and nerve-wracking for me was the same reason that a lot of people don’t want to speak. The number one reason people are anxious about public speaking is that they think everybody is there to judge them and critique them. They believe that everybody is sitting in the audience with a great book and a notepad ready to write down everything that is going wrong. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The reason that persons are there is to gain value. So if you think that they’re there to judge you and critique you, and that is playing in your head, then that’s going to be how you come across. So I want to share with you three things that you can use to get yourself out of that mindset.
#1
Recognize that your audience is there just to gain value from your speech. Whether it be a motivational, informative, or educational speech, they have come to learn from you. Persons are there because they are looking to hear something from you that they can then apply to themselves to make their world better. After all, they ultimately want to be more prosperous. They want to be happier. They want to have better relationships. They want to feel better about themselves. So everyone just comes open expecting to get some help from you.
#2
You also have to recognize that they have fears, too. If persons didn’t fear it, they would be right up on the stage with you and beside you if they weren’t scared about it. If there are a thousand people in the audience, 98 percent won’t get up or be fearful. They’ll be scared out of their wits to get up and speak on stage. So recognize that they have fears, too.
#3
Make your audience your focus point. Don’t worry so much about your fears. Focus on what is it that you can share with them because this is a conversation. What can you give to them so that they will be able to achieve what they came for? Again, they want to be happy. They want to be more wealthy. They want to have better relationships. They want to be better people. How can you help them with that? Focus on them.
You can also find this post on https://robertkennedy3.medium.com/3-tips-for-how-to-deal-with-public-speaking-fear-nervousness-and-anxiety-a7694c95a1ef
Become an amazing, confident online presenter with these three tech tips and tools. Having astounding content is very important. It has to be very very good. Not good, it has to be Excellent.
Let’s discuss three tools and technologies that can really help in getting your online presentations to that next level.
#1 Polls
If you’ve used zoom or any other similar tools, polls are something that is included inside of say zoom, but maybe you’re not using zoom. There are some other polling tools that you can use such as poll everywhere, which is one of my favorites but you also have Kahoot or mentee meter. Now you can do a lot of things like ask multiple choice questions or multiple response questions or questions which involve choosing from a picture or two. There are a lot of different things you can do, including word clouds and other different question types or poll types to really increase the level of engagement in your presentations.
#2 Teleprompter
When we think about teleprompters, a lot of people think about those clear plexiglass devices that presidents and other politicians use to go through their speeches. But there are a lot of different teleprompters you can use. I use some all the time, especially when I’m making videos or doing online presentations to keep me on track. I can see the text right in front of me, but I can also look directly at the camera in order to look like I’m engaging with my audience. You can use teleprompters on your smartphones, your tablets, your iPads, or your I-phones, or an Android. One of my favorite teleprompter apps is teleprompter premium or teleprompter plus by Joe Allen. You can check that out!
#3 Slides
If you happen to be using slides, a lot of times, you share slides, and you put these slides on the screen, and they take up a lot of the space. Persons don’t get to see you, or they see you in a little box in the corner, or maybe you’re not there at all. I like to be able to jump back and forth between my slides without a lot of effort so that the audience can connect with me and they can really see how I interact or feel about the content. One of my favorite tools for this is the Prezi video. Tools like the Prezi video allow me to go back and forth between the slides, the text, the content on the screen, and me. It helps with the purpose of looking the audience in the eye and physically engaging with them.
You can also find this post on https://robertkennedy3.medium.com/3-tips-for-great-online-presentations-3ba207fb0699
I want to share with you three things you can do to become a more exceptional speaker. I use the word exceptional because many people want to be speakers, want to be motivational speakers, want to be inspirational speakers, want to be different types of speakers. But a lot of people don’t do the work that it takes to become exceptional. Many people do not hone their skills; they don’t sharpen their tools to become exceptional.
I met a gentleman who said he was a motivational speaker, and he wanted to become a professional motivational speaker. He was going to schools (and I’ve seen him speak at several places) but his entire demeanor, the way he presented himself, was low energy. I don’t know if I’d be motivated by him. He was in a situation where he joined a group with me to help him become a better speaker; after a few meetings, he stopped attending. When I called or texted, he would say he got busy with his “thing.” So he wasn’t putting in the work; he wasn’t hungry. He didn’t want to be a better speaker; he just wanted to have the title.
If you want to be a better speaker, you’ve got to put in the work. When you are an exceptional speaker, several things happen:
you get referrals,
you get rebooked multiple times,
you connect with people,
they fall in love with you,
they enjoy your energy and being around you.
#1
To become an exceptional speaker, you have to read. If you’re not reading, you’re not getting any content. You don’t have any stories to pull from; you don’t have any information, you don’t have any expert knowledge to use. All you’re pulling from is the stuff floating around inside your head. If you’re only watching reality TV, then you’re not going to have content that vibes with people; you’re not going to have content they view as credible. So you want to make sure you read.
#2
Writing is also a crucial part of becoming an exceptional speaker. We all can write and read the words before us, but our minds have to process these words. You have to put words on paper in a way that’s accessible to people that they can understand. If you can understand the flow of it when you’re writing it, then you’re going to be able to share that with people. Often, as speakers, we just use off the cuff, we are just speaking, and we’re just talking about things. Sometimes we just ramble on, and we don’t have a structure in mind with how we will share information. So what you’ve got to do is begin to write a bit more because when you write, you can see the flow and its structure better. You can see what the question is or what the point is initially; then, you can add supporting statements underneath or take people on this journey. It’s a bit harder to do that; If you’re just speaking off the cuff, you’re rambling and unsure which way to go. So writing helps you to figure out what are some of the structures that work that you can use.
#3
Practice, practice, practice, you’ve got to practice! I create Youtube Videos weekly, and that helps me to practice my speaking. I’ve seen speakers who do not practice before an engagement, ended up using a lot of filter words, apologizing, flustering and their speeches ended up not having a flow as the words are just coming out of their head. Speakers will be invited to speak at an engagement, and all they will write down is a standard title “ I have come to speak with you today about……….”. They will begin speaking, and you can get the sense that they are not prepared. They will start apologizing a lot, and this will then, in turn, make your audiences begin to lose confidence in what it is that you are presenting. They’re not using their expertise and their experience. I would like to point out that you don’t want to apologize; you’ve got to practice.
You can become a rock star and exceptional speaker using these three tips. Number one, read Number two, make sure that you write. Number three, make sure that you practice.
You can also find this post on https://robertkennedy3.medium.com/3-top-tips-to-become-an-exceptional-speaker-8f3c89a8f8e3
There are two reasons why signature stories are some of the most powerful tools you can have in business. The other day I was on a podcast, and the host and I were talking about storytelling. We first started talking about communication, and then the host asked me to tell a story that illustrated the power of storytelling.
So, I shared a story about when I was eight years old and learned how to ride a bicycle for the first time and went down a Hill. I shared the intense drama of going down this hill, coming up to an intersection, and as I was telling the story, I could see the face of this podcast host begin to shift. We’re doing this on video, and I could see the smile start to come across his face. I could see his eyebrows start to go up. When I began to tell parts of the story where the drama was starting to build, and the tension was beginning to develop, and I saw all these changes taking place in him as I was telling this story.
Now that’s one of the great things about storytelling. Storytelling allows you to relate to people; it will enable you to create emotional shifts in the energy and what is happening in the space of this particular moment. More so than just chucking information at them or giving them data or relaying facts. Storytelling helps to pull people into whatever you are sharing with them. So I wanted to share two reasons why storytelling, especially signature stories, is critical, especially for business.
#1
A signature story reminds people of possibilities when you share a challenge or something that was broken or something you’ve overcome. When people hear this and know we’re going towards a win, they know we’re going towards a hero story. If they’re already emotionally invested in the story, they will begin to see the hope. They will start to see the possibility. They’ll start to see the inspiration because you, yourself, as a storyteller, are passionate about it, and it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve told it. It begins to show and point them towards possibility because of the way you’re sharing the story.
#2
Signature stories identify a core value for your audience. What are your core values? What are the things that you believe in? What is your personality like? What, what are the things that you’re willing to die for? As I’m telling this story about me riding my bicycle down this hill, heading towards this intersection, and looking around for a space to have a safe landing, the core value that I’m sharing with my audience at this point is one of adventure. I’m sharing a core value of being willing to take risks, not listening to some of the ideas others have that may be stuck in a specific place. I’m sharing a core value of being willing and able to adjust on the fly. And so the story allows audiences to see the characteristics and the value in me. As you think about how you can connect with people, how you can emotionally relate to your audience, consider finding and digging and discovering your own signature story. It’s going to make a real difference in your business and how your audiences and customers relate to you.
Let’s talk, stories. Stories are critical and they make a big difference in any speech, in any conversation. But did you know the type of story you tell can make a huge difference in the outcome of your conversation or in the response of your audience? So what am I talking about? What are the types of stories that you can tell?
I want to share with you six different types of stories you can tell that will make a difference for your audience. You don’t want to just tell any kind of story, because the story is an opportunity for you to build trust with your audience, for them to get to know you better. It’s also an opportunity for them to see themselves in anything you’re presenting. There’s a story that you tell in specific situations which can really make a difference.
#1 Introduction Story
Who are you? What makes you special? What makes you credible? What are the different types of things you have experienced? Your audience wants to like you, they want to know you. They want to trust you. So tell them about the time you tripped, tell them about where you’re from, tell them about a funny story or tell them about an embarrassing thing that once happened to you. Although you have the mic and you’re the one in the front of the room, you still don’t want to appear removed from your audience. So tell them who you are, introduce yourself to them.
#2 The sales story
A sales is a story you can use when it’s time to sell or really influence the group.This type of story is called a why I came story. Why are you in the room? What did you bring? What is your reason for standing in front of them at that very moment? Is there something you have that can solve the very problem your audience is facing right at this specific time, make sure they know this as soon as possible, the longer it takes for you to tell them why you’re there, the more suspicious they’ll become. Especially if they’re in a situation where they’re expecting to be sold.
#3 Value story
This story you can use when you talk about characteristics you really find important, heart centered values you hold dear, this kind of story is especially important for leaders. When you really want to have your organization understand the values, the core values that are important to you and see if there’s alignment with values they hold importantly themselves.
#4 Lesson story
A lesson story is where there’s a moral and you want to use this when you’re trying to change a specific behavior. If you’re trying to make a certain point, for example, if I’m dealing with my kids, I really want to share a lesson story when there’s something I want them to do differently. I’ll go back into my own history. I’ll share a story about when I did something wrong and then I’ll share the lesson for why I’m telling them that story type.
#5 Vision story
This is where you have big ideas, big dreams, and you really want to point people in a specific direction. This is your GPS type of story. This type of story is used when I’m starting something new. When I need to inspire a team, when I need to mobilize people to move in a specific direction of vision. A vision story is really the type of story that helps the point, the needle point, the rudder point, to point people in the direction you want everybody to head at the same time.
#6 Inspiration story
A story of inspiration, these are really stories about when a challenge has been conquered. When you want to show a new way to do something, you really want to begin to utilize inspiration stories. When you have something really big you want to accomplish, you want a group of people to accomplish, you want to motivate them towards this and you want to show them the difference. You want to show them the obstacles and the challenges that have been overcome. You want to inspire them to move forward with this story you’re telling them.
How come some people just appear really charismatic, likeable confident – just really good on video or live stream? Let me share my 5 Tips To Present With Confidence on Your Livestreams.
1: Be clear about the one takeaway for your audience
Before you get started with your video or livestream, you need to have an idea of where you want to take your audience. You need to give your audience one big takeaway that they would be able to remember from your livestream days or weeks after it has aired.
2: Have a framework to know where you will start and end
You need to have a framework that you can use to take you from the beginning through the middle until the end of your video. This prevents you from rambling and allows you to take your audience on a well-planned journey where your confidence will shine through.
If you want a simple framework that you can use, check out my E.A.S.E. framework and easily create a talk that connects in less than 5 minutes.
3: Warm up and ENERGY UP
Before doing a livestream or a presentation, do activities that help you warm up and drive your energy up for your audience.
In the same way that athletes warm up before starting the competition in order to get their muscles to loosen up before the big event, you also need to have your own warm up routine. You can do facial and lip exercises, power posing – anything to get ourselves in the place where we are able to deliver something of value and with energy to our audience.
Now, to energy up, I listen to music that really drives me and pumps me up. I choose the music that allows me to get my energy up so that I then transmit that energy to the audience.
4: Have a strong opening
You only have a few seconds to get your audience’s interest and hook them in your presentation. What is the thing that you’re going to do to get that interest and keep it quickly?
If you want to know how I do it, check out this video on how you can crush the openings of your speeches/presentations. It’s a simple technique that I use and if you try it out, I guarantee you that it’s going to have a different impact on your audience.
5: Know your call to action
What is the one thing that you want your audience to do at the end of your livestream video? Know your call to action. Never end one of your videos without having a next step or a call to action for your audience.
Follow these five tips and it’s going to up level that confidence that you have in delivering your content, video, or your live stream.
On to Season 2 we go! In Episode 98 we started our journey through Part 1 of Season 2 Value Bombs that were shared by a few of my amazing guests in The RK3 Show. Listen to the episode and hear Merril Hoge, David Villa, Anton Gunn, and Alicia Dunams.
SWAG TIME! Send in your 20-second voice message or an email about The RK3 Show and you might win T-shirts, some merch, sweet prizes!
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
We are one episode away from the penultimate episode of this show – Episode 100! I remember recording these episodes. I remember the moments spent with these people and I remember just the energy in the joy that we had as we went through these episodes together.
In this episode, we have 4 more valuable tips from our Season 2 guests. Let’s listen to Part 2 of The RK3 Show Season 2 Value Bombs!
[03:23] S2 Ep68: Let’s get the 401 from 2019 Toastmasters World Champion Aaron Beverly on what distinguishes a storyteller from a speaker?
[05:16] S2 Ep67: Former WNBA player Lisa Willis shares how her accomplishments were treated based on her gender.
[08:28] S2 Ep83 : Kelly Swanson a comedic motivational speaker provides her insight on what is it like to be seen as somebody who is funny and are your required to be funny all the time?
[10:36] S2 Ep82 : Andy Henriquez, the founder of the Master Storyteller Academy gives us his thoughts on whether or not we can LEARN how to be a good storyteller.
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
We completed our trip down memory lane for Season 1 in Episode 97 as we looked back on Part 2 of the Golden Nuggets that were shared in that season of The RK3 Show. Listen to clips from Aurora Gregory, Lois Creamer, Quinn Conyers, and Steve/Pasha Carter in the previous episode.
SWAG TIME! Send in your 20-second voice message or an email about The RK3 Show and you might win T-shirts, some merch, sweet prizes!
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
Let’s continue down the path of reminiscing about memorable episodes in The RK3 Show. In this episode, we start our journey through Season 2 clips. Let’s listen to Part 1 of The RK3 Show Season 2 Value Bombs!
[03:18] S2 Ep52: Merril Hoge tells us that football is the best sport but what, for him, is the best game?
[04:53] S2 Ep54: David Villa shares with us how he inspires his team on a daily basis.
[07:32] S2 Ep56 : Anton Gunn gives us his insight on how to keep people from simply star chasing and moving to a place of being of service to others?
[09:11] S2 Ep65 : We learn from Alicia Dunams how we can become even more effective in communication to inspire engagement with others.
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
If you followed my channel for any length of time, then you know that I’m a trainer, speaker, author and storyteller. But how do I do those things when I have speaking events, when I have engagements, when I’ve got gigs, – how do I prep for them? What do I do?
Well in this video, I’m going to share with you FIVE things that I do to prep for any virtual gigs, any speaking engagements that I have. Want to hear about it? Here we go.
Listen, I love doing what I do and I’ve been doing it for a little while. I would say, I’ve been an official speaker for about four, five years or so, maybe a little bit longer than that. But as I learn a little bit more about the industry, I’ve got the set of steps that I go through and I’m learning how to systemize, tweak, and automate so that I’m even more prepped and on top of it for events.
As a matter of fact today, I did this session and the person that hired me was a little bit surprised about how many different things that I did and considered as I put the event together. So I can’t do all of that without a set of steps that I walk through. I can’t do all of that without preparing.
So I’m going to share with you a few things that I do to prepare for those events. But before I do that, I just kind of want to share with you some of the recent things that I’ve done just this week alone. I’ve emceed an event, I’ve done a bunch of trainings, just finished doing some webinars with a buddy, and it’s been really awesome to do that.
So how do I prepare? How do I make sure that I’m on track and that I’m giving the client exactly what they need? Well, let me share with you five things that I do.
#1: Prep Call
Number one is: I have a prep call with the client.
I’ve got a prep with the client and on that call we really discuss:
What are the takeaways that we want them to have?
Who’s going to be there?
Who are the people that are going to be in the audience so that I can speak to the different groups, the different audience members, the different roles that they have – all of the different things that they want.
And I’ve got to know that stuff in advance, so I do that. So that’s number one.
#2: Figure Out The ONE BIG THING/TAKEAWAY
Number two is I figure out the one big thing that I want my audience to know.
I figure out the one big thing that I want my audience to know. I figure that out based on what I get from the person that I spoke with. And that’s that’s the reason that I really have that call with them because I want to find out what success looks like for them.
When I speak, when I share with them my talk, my program, I want to make sure that at the end of this session that they got exactly what they wanted, what they asked for, and so that’s what I do. I figure out what’s the one big thing, what’s the one big takeaway that they have.
#3: Create Slides and Assets
Okay, so the third thing that I do after I figure out the one big thing is, I then create slides and and assets around it. I create slides and assets around that one big thing, that one main idea.
What are the visuals? What are the text? What is the information that I can put together easily and cleanly to most clearly get that point, drive that point home for the audience.
#4: Figure Out Engagement Strategies
And then after I do that, I figure out engagement strategies.
So when I talk about engagement strategies, what am I talking about exactly? I’m talking about what are the connecting points? What are the things that I do to connect with the audience because there’s nothing worse than a speaker or a trainer who just stands there and talks the entire time, right? You want someone that is going to do something that engages, that really is interactive, that allows the people to to be a part of that session.
So what are the times? What are the moments? What are the activities that I have that I can that make either in person or virtual? What are the activities that I have that I can use to really pull the audience into what I’m sharing?
And then, after I figure out those things, I try to –
#5: Figure Out The Tech
I try to figure out the tech. When I’m online, is it going to be zoom? Am I going to be using Prezi video? I’m going to be using PowerPoint? Am I going to be using Keynote? Am I going to be using Microsoft Teams? Am I going to be incorporating polls and different games? Am I going to gamify this? Am I going to use poll everywhere? Am I going to use Kahoot?
I’m listing all of these different things – and I probably need to do a video where we can deep dive into some of these different things – but what are the technologies? What are the platforms? What are the pieces of software that I need to use because, especially if I’m doing some of these events by myself, it takes a lot of coordination to make it happen.
What are the things that I need to do in order to really understand and do the dry runs and the practices to make sure that I don’t have fails during the event. What are my background systems if something goes down? How do I get back up quickly?
Those are five things that I do – and I do a lot more. I’ve got some checklists that i follow, but I think if you really understand the virtual world or you want to be a part of that virtual world, especially as a speaker as a trainer, then these five steps are some really key things that are going to help you move towards that.
That’s all I wanted to share with you on this episode today. Today is day three of the vlogmas – that that’s all I got so join me tomorrow.
Join me tomorrow day four just tune in and make sure that if you haven’t done so yet I’ve shared a couple of videos or little things here, smash that SUBSCRIBE button and hit the notification thingy and you’ll get notified every time.
In Episode 96, we started to take a trip down memory lane as we listened to the opening theme of Season 1 as well as looked back on the Golden Nuggets that were shared in that season of The RK3 Show. Listen and reminisce with us as we take the road towards the sunset of The RK3 Show.
SWAG TIME! Send in your 20-second voice message or an email about The RK3 Show and you might win T-shirts, some merch, sweet prizes!
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
Let’s continue our journey through the golden moments of The RK3 Show Season 1. In this episode, allow me to share Part 2 of the golden nuggets that we were able to talk about in Season 1. Let’s listen to four additional fabulous clips from Season 1!
[02:19] S01 Ep49: Aurora Gregory shares what it takes to have your voice heard and chosen as a speaker.
[04:12] S01 Ep18: Lois Creamer gives her insight on how you can answer “What is it that you do?” and stand out?
[08:11] S01 Ep13: What do you do in order to navigate fear in order to make a difference in the lives of others? Quinn Conyers answers it for us.
[10:45] S01 Ep37: Married couple Pasha and Steve Carter share what it takes to be on the same page and communicate in a way that allows people in a relationship to be successful together.
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
In Episode 95, we discussed how age is indeed just a number. You don’t have to be young or have to be a certain age to be recognized, to share your story, to do something that has impact. It does not matter what age you reach success; the most important thing is that you decide that you’re going to keep pushing and plowing away no matter what.
No matter what your age, you can make it. You can make change possible. Like the people we listed in the episode, it is never too late!
SWAG TIME! Send in your 20-second voice message or an email about The RK3 Show and you might win T-shirts, some merch, sweet SWAG!
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
Do you remember Season 1 of The RK3 Show? That was way back in 2019 – can you believe it? The RK3 Show has been with you for 2 years and now, we are counting down the days before its sunset.
In this episode, allow me to share Part 1 of the golden nuggets that we were able to talk about in Season 1. We will have Part 2 tomorrow so tune in for that as well!
[02:52] What’s coming after The RK3 Show?
[03:30] S01 Ep11: Kevin Kruse talks about “pivots”
[06:14] S01 Ep19: Pam Perry talks about how important our story even if we don’t think it has value.
[09:01] S01 Ep24: Mark Brown believed in the power of his story even if it required a last minute change.
[12:57] S01 Ep42: Robb Holman shares about the value of authentic relationships with others.
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
What does it mean to be vulnerable? Why should I be vulnerable when I share my story? It is all about CONNECTION. You can definitely share data, information, or the products and services that you are building or selling. However, to connect with people on a deeper level, you really need to go to stories – specifically a personal story.
Listen to Episode 94 where I discuss why being vulnerable with your audience helps you better connect and make a difference with people.
We have some PRIZES to give away! Send in your 20-second voice message or an email about The RK3 Show and you might win T-shirts, some merch, sweet SWAG!
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
What if it’s too late to find your voice and share your story?
Age is just a number. You don’t have to be young or have to be a certain age to be recognized, to share your story, to do something that has impact. It does not matter what age you reach success; the most important thing is that you decide that you’re going to keep pushing and plowing away no matter what.
No matter what your age, you can make it. You can make change possible. Like the people we have in the list below, it is never too late!
[04:54] Viola Davis – became recognized for her acting prowess in her 40s.
[05:39] Samuel Jackson – got his first big role at the age of 46.
[06:05] Leslie Jones – her career as a comedienne started to boom at the age of 50!
[06:43] Burt Reynolds – he was in his late 40s when he started his road to stardom.
[07:03] Martha Stewart – released her first book “Entertaining” at the age of 41 years old.
[08:29] Kathy Bates – “Misery” started her on the path of amazing roles. She was 42 when she got the role.
[08:51] Betty White – She earned her Emmy for her role on Golden Girls at the age of 53.
[09:34] Regis Philbin – He didn’t make it until 1988 when he was 57 YEARS OLD!
[10:23] Tommy Lee Jones – Started acting in the 70s but it was only in the 90s when he received his Oscar nomination.
[10:59] Ray Kroc – started McDonald’s at the age of 52!
[11:15] Soichiro Honda – Founded Honda Motors at 42 years old.
[11:37] Julia Child – She was 49 when her first cookbook was published but became recognized at the age of 51.
[12:21] Taikichiro Mori – Left the academe and became a real estate investor at the age of 55. Forbes named him the world’s richest man in 1991 at the age of 87.
[12:59] Winston Churchill – Became the UK’s Prime Minister at the age of 62 after numerous failures in his political career.
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
My guest in Episode 93 is a former professional athlete. He’s a former offensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts and he knows what it feels like to encounter failures, roadblocks, and disappointments. He grew up on the south side of Columbus, Ohio where he had to overcome failure, adversity, learning disabilities.
But he discovered the secrets to unlocking “The Winning Edge” and now speaks all over the world training others to win in business and in life. Listen to Shawn Harper and learn how to WIN in life.
Do you want to send any messages about the show, our episodes, and guests? Send your 20-second voice message through https://robertkennedy3.com/voicemail. Leave me a message and I’ll air it on or before our final episode.
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
What does it mean to be vulnerable? Why should I be vulnerable when I share my story? It is all about CONNECTION.
You can definitely share data, information, or the products and services that you are building or selling. However, to connect with people on a deeper level, you really need to go to stories – specifically a personal story.
Let’s talk about why being vulnerable with your audience helps you better connect and make a difference with people.
[03:38] Personal stories allow people to see you in a space of vulnerability.
[04:58] What you share matters!
[06:12] I share my actual “confession” and vulnerable side.
[09:08] Here are a few reactions I received and how people were able to relate to me.
[10:04] What is one big reason why we fear being vulnerable?
[11:30] Failure can be used as fuel for your future.
[12:23] What is the reason we exist?
[12:46] Success doesn’t happen in isolation.
[13:42] Find Your Voice and Change the World!
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
In Episode 92, we had on the show Nancy Duarte – THE person I looked up to in the eLearning industry. She’s a communication expert who’s been featured in Fortune, TIME Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, Wired, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Cosmopolitan, LA Times and on CNN.
Her firm Duarte Inc. is the global leader behind some of the most influential visual messages in business and culture. She’s a persuasion expert who has cracked the code for effectively incorporating story patterns into business communications. Listen to the episode and crack the storytelling code!
Do you want to send any messages about the show, our episodes, and guests? Send your voice messages through https://robertkennedy3.com/voicemail. Leave me a message and I’ll air it on or before our final episode.
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
Today we’re going to WIN, WIN, WIN!
Our guest today is a former professional athlete. He’s a former offensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts and he knows what it feels like to encounter failures, roadblocks, and disappointments. He grew up on the south side of Columbus, Ohio where he had to overcome failure, adversity, learning disabilities.
But he discovered the secrets to unlocking “The Winning Edge” and now speaks all over the world training others to win in business and in life. Let’s listen to Shawn Harper and learn how to WIN in life.
[02:45] As a former professional athlete, what is one of the biggest assumptions that people make about Shawn in life?
[04:06] What is one of the biggest challenges that Shawn had to face off the field?
[05:25] Is there a formula that Shawn knows of that people can apply to be able to compartmentalize the different facets of their lives?
[07:50] Who does Shawn look at on the field for accountability?
[08:55] When did Shawn make the leap into speaking?
[09:28] Why did Shawn think of incorporating some strongman tactics into his act?
[10:41] What else are some of the things that Shawn does to interact with his audience aside from the physical?
[13:20] How does Shawn know when to mellow down with his shock-and-awe tactics onstage and keep his audience engaged?
[15:49] How does Shawn keep things fresh with his audience in terms of his speaking content?
[16:40] Shawn shares some tips to upcoming speakers on how to master connecting with their audience.
[17:54] What does Shawn do differently when he’s speaking to executive audiences?
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
Yesterday we released Episode 91 and is all about connected introverts. Nick Shelton trains introverts in high level networking skills that allows them to upgrade their lifestyles. When introverts train with him, they network better. They build stronger relationships; make real connections; are known; can access people opportunities and activities that they might have been missing out on.
If you want to connect more effectively, listen to the episode and learn!
Do you want to send any messages about the show, our episodes, and guests? Send your voice messages through https://robertkennedy3.com/voicemail. Leave me a message and I’ll air it on or before our final episode.
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
Our guest is one amazing woman and THE person I looked up to in the eLearning industry. She’s a communication expert who’s been featured in Fortune, TIME Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, Wired, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Cosmopolitan, LA Times and on CNN.
Her firm Duarte Inc. is the global leader behind some of the most influential visual messages in business and culture. She’s a persuasion expert who has cracked the code for effectively incorporating story patterns into business communications.
Let’s talk about the storytelling code with Nancy Duarte today!
[03:00] Nancy shares with us her journey into the presentation and technical aspect of storytelling.
[04:27] What mistake can Nancy observe frequently as she works with organizations?
[05:47] Nancy talks about the mentor archetype and how it helps one to focus on the audience.
[06:53] What are other archetypes that are in the storytelling realm that can help presenters?
[10:43] What are some of the things that we need to be able to do as visual storytellers to influence and persuade our audiences especially in the remote space.
[13:38] Are there any specific guidelines to take note of for virtual presentation or storytelling?
[16:38] Does Nancy find other elements that are necessary aside from the standard story framework for online videos and stories?
[18:27] What can Duarte recommend for somebody in the corporate space who wants to level up their storytelling or presentation skills?
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
It’s been a long while coming and we are continuing to count down to the final episode of The RK3 Show. Yes, we are making a shift, a change to a new show soon. Thank you for supporting this podcast and I hope you will join me in my new journey as well.
Now, how do I make that shift and process that change? As I discussed yesterday in Episode 90, we all need to go through a process in order to get from point A to point B. Listen to the episode and find out the three things that I do when I’ m processing a shift.
Do you want to send any messages about the show, our episodes, and guests? Send your voice messages through https://robertkennedy3.com/voicemail. Leave me a message and I’ll air it on or before our final episode.
If you still want to send me a message but you’d prefer to do it via email instead, send me a note at podcast(at)robertkennedy3.com. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox!
What’s In Store For You
I’m an introvert. A lot of people do not believe me when I say that. People can’t imagine that a speaker, a leader, a presenter who needs to stand up in front of others can be an introvert. But yes, we definitely can do that.
Today’s guest is someone who trains introverts in high level networking skills that allows them to upgrade their lifestyles. When introverts train with him, they network better. They build stronger relationships; make real connections; are known; can access people opportunities and activities that they might have been missing out on.
Let’s talk about how to connect as an introvert together with Nick Shelton.
[02:40] What are some of the biggest misconceptions that people have about introverts?
[03:24] Is it possible for an extrovert to be shy and socially awkward?
[04:49] Nick shares a few misconceptions that some of the introverted individuals he has worked with have about themselves.
[07:03] How can introversion be a “superpower”?
[08:21] What are some of the things that organizations need to be aware of regarding their employees that fit the label of being an “introvert”?
[10:37] Nick gives us a “dream” tip on what introverts themselves can do to better prepare for public speaking, presentation, or storytelling opportunities.
[11:57] How can a person-object association help you become a better presenter?
[14:07] What is the best way for introverts to be heard?
SUBSCRIBE to The RK3 Show On:
Apple Podcasts (leave us a rating, review, recommendation!),
